


magnus and taako vs the world

by goodbee



Series: family [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Backstory, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up Together, High School, M/M, Mostly Fluff, child Magnus, child Taako, i promise more characters will show up, it just might take a hot minute, it's taako and sazed, magnus and julia start dating in high school bc they're THAT couple no one can tell me otherwise, magnus and taako are brothers, merle is magnus and taako's adopted dad, other characters are finally showing up!!, tws in chapter summaries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-04-07 16:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14085360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodbee/pseuds/goodbee
Summary: “Can you tell me your name? I promise I won’t tell Merle if you don’t want me to.”“Taako.”“Taco?”“T-A-A-K-O. Taako.”“Oh, rad! That sounds like a cool magic wizard name.”Taako laughed a little. “That’s because I’m a cool magic wizard, my dude.”Magnus looked at him, wide-eyed.“You are?”“Hell yeah.”“That’s a bad word.”“Wizards can use bad words.”“Cool!”





	1. nine years old

Magnus was bouncing on the balls of his feet. He’d met Merle before, and he seemed cool, and he said he’d probably let Magnus get a dog, and he had a cool house with a garden, and-

 

The door opened, and Merle walked in. 

 

“Merle!”

 

“Hey, kid. You ready to go?”

 

“Yeah!” Magnus grabbed his backpack and was out the door before Merle could say another word.

 

\----

 

Magnus liked Merle, and he liked Merle’s house, but there wasn’t anyone else his age in the neighborhood, and school wouldn’t start for another two  _ months _ . Magnus was lonely. They couldn’t even bring home the dog they were adopting yet because it had to get surgery and shots and stuff.

 

One hot day in warm may, Merle and Magnus were walking home from the park when Magnus froze and tugged on Merle’s sleeve.

 

“Merle,” he whispered.

 

“C’mon, Maggie-”

 

“ _ Merle. _ ”

 

Merle followed Magnus’s gaze to a big oak tree.

 

“I love nature too, bud, let’s get goin’.”

 

Magnus frowned and took the matter into his own hands.

 

“Stay here.”

 

Magnus walked as quietly as he could up to the tree and started to climb. Merle felt like he should maybe do something, but elected to instead sit on the grass and supervise.

 

“Hey, I’m coming up here, don’t be scared,” Magnus said to the scrawny figure he’d seen up in the highest branches of the tree. He hoisted himself up onto a sturdy limb and tried to get a look at the person, but they were facing the other way, tensed up with their hand on another branch, ready to flee.

 

“I’m Magnus. Don’t run away, I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

 

The figure let go of the branch.

 

“Who’s with you?” they said, so quietly Magnus could barely hear it.

 

“That’s just Merle, he’s like my dad I guess. He adopted me a little while ago. Are you hungry?”

 

“No,” the person said, but their stomach growled so loudly that it gave them away. They grumbled to themself. 

 

“We’ve got sandwiches ‘n stuff at home. C’mon, Merle won’t mind.”

 

“... fine.”

 

Magnus hopped out of the tree, scraping up his knee in the landing. The tiny kid jumped down with a surprising amount of grace. Magnus took their hand and led them to Merle.

 

“Oh, that’s why you climbed the tree. Who’s this?” Merle asked.

 

“I dunno. What’s your name?”

 

The kid didn’t respond.

 

\----

 

After sandwiches (which the kid frowned at, but ate) and apple juice, Magnus was sitting with them on the stairs of the back porch.

 

“Can you tell me your name? I promise I won’t tell Merle if you don’t want me to.”

 

“Taako.”

 

“Taco?”

 

“T-A-A-K-O. Taako.”

 

“Oh, rad! That sounds like a cool magic wizard name.”

 

Taako laughed a little. “That’s because I’m a cool magic wizard, my dude.”

 

Magnus looked at him, wide-eyed.

 

“You  _ are _ ?”

 

“Hell yeah.”

 

“That’s a bad word.”

 

“Wizards can use bad words.”

 

“ _ Cool. _ ”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Magnus paused.

 

“Hey, Taako?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You wanna stay here? Merle won’t mind.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I gotta find my sister.”

 

“Oh,” Magnus said. And then, “Where is she?”

 

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have to find her.”

 

“When’d she disappear?”

 

“Last year.

 

“Oh. Well, you can stay here tonight.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

It became routine, for about a month, for Magnus to ask Taako to stay every night. And every night, he said the same thing. “Maybe.” After a month, Magnus only asked every couple of days. Then every couple of weeks. Eventually, he stopped asking, because Merle had filed some adoption form and Taako lived with them now. Taako stayed.


	2. eleven years old

In two years, Magnus felt like he hadn’t learned much about Taako at all. But he had learned a lot about Lup. Taako was always ready to talk about his sister, repeating basic facts like he was going to forget about them if he didn’t keep saying them. Her favorite color was red (like her umbrella, which Taako had hid in a nook in the base of the tree Magnus found him in and insisted on going back to retrieve as soon as it started seeming like he’d be with Magnus and Merle for a while). She was super cool and nice and pretty. She was taller than Taako, and had more freckles, but they were otherwise identical. She was strong (Taako said she was stronger than Magnus, but Magnus had trouble believing that, judging by how weak Taako was). Taako could talk for hours about how smart she was. Depending on the day, she disappeared because she was kidnapped by ninjas, or the mafia, or she was off on a secret two-year mission, or something. 

Magnus strongly suspected that she didn’t exist.

He didn’t tell Taako that, because Taako would get mad, and he was a lot less fun when he was mad. But he thought about it a lot. But Taako was Taako, and Magnus was Magnus, so the secret was bound to slip sooner rather than later.

\----

“Magnus, what the hell.”

“What!”

Magnus was standing in the doorway, nose busted and missing a tooth. He came in grinning, but it fell as soon as Taako opened his mouth.

“What did you do?”

“Well there was this dog-”

“Of course there was a dog.”

“-it got all beat up by some jerks so I just kinda…” Magnus mimed punching somebody. Taako shook his head.

“Then why are you all beat up?”

“Well, uh.” Magnus looked sheepish. “I didn’t ‘xactly win. But the dog’s okay!”

“You look dumb without a tooth.”

“Hey! You lost a tooth like a month ago!”

“But I don’t look dumb because I didn’t get mine knocked out, stupid.”

“Why am I dumb!”

Taako grabbed his umbrella and pointed it at Magnus. “You fought people over a dog!”

Magnus grumbled something, kicking his shoes down the stairs in annoyance.

“What’d you say?”

“At least I don’t still have an imaginary friend in fifth grade!” Magnus spat out, then covered his mouth. Taako clutched his umbrella.

“What are you talking about?”

“Lup-”

“Lup is real!”

“Then prove it!”

Taako grabbed a book off the nearest shelf and threw it at Magnus and stalked off, holding his umbrella close to his chest. Magnus huffed and went and sat on Merle’s bed.

It took a few minutes, but Merle wandered in and saw Magnus all beat up and upset.

“What’s up, kiddo?”

 

“Taako threw a book at me and called me stupid.”

Merle raised an eyebrow. “An’ why’d he do that?”

“I got into a fight trying to protect a dog.”

“That why you got all beat up?”

“Yeah.” Magnus touched the forming bruise on his cheek. “This one’s from Taako, though.”

“I reckon he’s at least part right, it was stupid to get into a fight like that. But I guess you’d do anything for a dog, huh?”

“Of course I would!”

“Taako knows that. I doubt him bein’ worried about you gettin’ yerself killed would make him throw a book at yer face, though. So what else happened?”

Magnus fidgeted with Merle’s comforter. Taako appeared in the doorway.

“He said Lup wasn’t real.”

“Well, now, Mags, why’d you say that?”

“Because she’s not! He always talks about her, but he has no idea where she is, and he doesn’t even have a picture of her, and his story about why she disappeared keeps changing anyway-”

“Magnus, have you considered that he doesn’t know?”

“What?”

Merle looked at Taako. Taako looked small and angry.

“Taako?” Merle encouraged.

“I don’t know what happened to her,” Taako mumbled. 

“Oh,” was all Magnus could say.

“We split up to find some food, and she didn’t meet back up with me. I couldn’t find her.”

“Oh,” Magnus said again. “Sorry.”

“It’s whatever.”

“No.” Magnus hopped off the bed and walked over to Taako, opening his arms wide. “I’m sorry.”

Taako huffed and looked at the floor, but he stepped into Magnus’s embrace, pressing his face into Magnus’s chest. Merle smiled.

Magnus started asking for more stories about Lup. He decided that he was gonna help Taako find her no matter what. He wanted to meet her, anyway. There was no way she was actually stronger than him.


	3. fourteen years old

Magnus felt Taako lay down next to him in the grass. Magnus just then realized how long he must’ve been out there, laying on Merle’s lawn and watching the stars. All the lights were out now. It must’ve been late.

 

Taako laid there for a few moments before saying anything.

 

“Are you not  _ cold _ , bubbeleh?”

 

“Nah.” Taako scooted closer to Magnus.

 

“Damn, you’re warm.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You just come out here to stare at the stars, or what?”

 

Magnus glanced at Taako. It was dark, but his brother had super good night vision, so he figured Taako had already seen the redness in his eyes and the tear stains on his cheeks.

 

“Nah.”

 

“So, uh.” Taako sounded uncomfortable. This wasn’t his element. “What’s up?”

 

Magnus didn’t really want to talk about it, for Taako’s sake as much as his own, but he figured,  _ hey, he’s going to all this effort, might as well…  _

 

“D’you think our parents are up there?” Magnus said, motioning vaguely to the sky.

 

“God, I hope not.”

 

“Well, maybe not your parents, but…”

 

“Yours?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“They were, uh, good people, right?”

 

“Yeah. The best. I don’t remember them that well anymore, but they were the best.” 

 

“Huh.”

 

“I just - I’m forgetting about them, Taako, what if-” Magnus cut himself off, tears starting to form in his eyes again and a sob trying to make its way out of his throat.

 

“What if you forget? Like, really forget?”

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

The boys laid in silence for a while before Taako spoke again.

 

“I think if, uh - If anyone’s watching from, y’know, up there, it’s probably your parents. I mean, I would, if I was… them.”

 

Taako sat up. Magnus followed suit, wrapping his arm around his brother and pulling him close.

 

“Hey, Taako?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Lup’s not up there.”

 

“... Yeah.”

 

“And, uh, thanks. I love you.”

 

“Love you, too, Mags.”

 

Taako awkwardly did his best to wrap his arms around Magnus, giving his back a little pat when Magnus started crying. And they sat there until he stopped. Which was, a while. The guy had infinite tears. 

 

When they did finally walk back inside, their saint bernard - Fisher - jumped up on Magnus and licked all the tears off his face.

 

“Well, you can always hug ‘n cry on Fisher, huh?”

 

“Heh. Yeah.”

 

“I’m gonna, uh, go to bed. You should do that, too.”

 

“Yeah… gimme a few minutes.

 

Magnus brushed his teeth and put on his pajamas, but he waited until Taako went to bed before creeping back out to the living room and sitting on the floor with Fisher.

 

“Is it ok if I talk to you, Fish?”

 

Fisher wagged his tail.

 

“Cool.” Magnus grabbed a pillow off the couch and held it tight. “My mom’s name was Teresa, and my dad was Travis…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ghhhh sorry this took so long ahah


	4. sixteen years old

Taako stomped into the house, twenty minutes after he should’ve been home from school, face splotchy, more angry than Magnus had ever seen him. Fisher jumped at him, but he pushed him away.

“What’s up, Taako?” said Magnus, concerned.

“This fuckin- bullshit,” Taako said, dropping his backpack on the floor with a thud and whirling around so Magnus could see the large singed portion of his super long golden hair.

“Oh, dude, that sucks. What happened?”

“Ren didn’t turn the fuckin’ griddle off in home ec so when I turned around to throw a slice of ham at Mr. Rick, my hair caught on fire.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, yikes. This is bullshit.”

“I- I guess you’re gonna have to cut it, huh.”

Taako’s shoulders tensed. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Do you- we can go now, if you want. Get it over with. There’s a GreatClips down the street, or maybe I can help you pay for like a real salon-”

“Fuck it.”

“What?”

Taako knelt down and started rummaging around in his backpack. He grabbed a pair of scissors and marched up to the bathroom. Magnus hesitated.

“You comin’ or what?” Taako said, sticking his head out of the bathroom door.

“I- yeah.” Magnus walked back, and Taako shoved the scissors into his hands.

“Go wild, holmes.”

“T, I don’t think-”

“No, you don’t. Chop chop, Mango. Heh, literally.”

Magnus swallowed and cautiously snipped away a burnt lock of hair. Taako screwed his eyes shut.

“Hurry up, man, All my hair’ll fall out before you’re done at this rate.”

“I don’t wanna mess it up!”

One lock at a time, Taako’s hair, which he had refused to cut any more than a tiny trim for so long, fell to the ground. By the end, the tile floor was carpeted by long, shiny hair, and Taako seemed to be unrecognizable.

“Hey, I mean, maybe this could be kind of a good thing, right? Like, moving on or some shit. I think it suits you, actually!”

Taako was silent, running his hands through what was left of his hair. It was around shoulder length, the decreased weight making it curl up a bit on at the ends. It wasn’t actually even a bad haircut, with all the care Magnus had put into it.

Taako didn’t cry, but he got very, very close. Magnus put a hand on his shoulder.

The next day, Saturday, Magnus burst into Taako’s room way too early in the morning with dark circles under his eyes and a grin on his face.

“Mmngwhatthfck?”

“Taako! I found all these ways to make your hair grow faster, and did some research, it’ll be long again before you know it!”

“I doubt that, Mags,” Taako said, yawning and propping himself into a vaguely sitting position.

“No, really! I can like, massage your head ‘n stuff!”

“Sounds stupid.”

Magnus deflated, but only for a second before regaining his enthusiasm.

“I’ll do it with you!”

“What?”

“I’ll do all this stuff, too! We can grow our hair out together! I mean, you’ve kinda got a head start, but you don’t have to do this alone!”

Taako brushed the hair out of his face and studied Magnus, taking note of his enthusiasm and obvious exhaustion. He sighed.

“Sure, Mags, thanks.”

Magnus grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how do people write long chapters i dont underSTAND


	5. seventeen years old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw for a kind of vague description of an abusive relationship, stay safe

High school was going great for Magnus Burnsides. He was on the football team, he was friends with everybody, his grades didn’t suck, he was dating  _ the love of his damn life,  _ Julia Waxmen, and her dad was teaching him woodcarving. Even Taako, despite his usual pessimism, had a group of devoted followers and friends, and seemed happy. So Magnus stopped worrying about him as much. Merle had finally gotten a job as a chaplain at the local hospital. 

 

But fate rarely lets good things be.

 

Magnus was doing his homework when his phone rang.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Hey, Magnus, this is, uh, this is Ren. Taak - Taako’s really upset, okay? He should be on his way home-”

 

“Woah, Ren, calm down. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine, he yelled at me but I know he didn’t mean it. Just watch out for ‘im, okay? He should be home in ten minutes or so, call ‘im if he doesn’t show up.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I don’t - I don’t really know? I think he had some big fight with Sazed again-”

 

“Again?”

 

“Yeah? They fight all the time. If you ask me, that guy’s  _ trouble _ , always hanging out with Maarvey and their gang, but Taako won’t hear it, swears on his life that he’s a good guy. Just watch out for him, okay? I gotta go.”

 

“I will. Thanks for the heads up, Ren.”

 

“Yeah. See ya at school.”

 

She hung up, and Magnus was left to wait until Taako got home.

 

A little under an hour later, the door swung open. Magnus jumped out of his chair and over Fisher to see if it was Taako.

 

It was. His face was buried in his scarf and he didn’t have his backpack. He stalked up the stairs, breezing past Magnus without a word. Magnus elected to wait a minute before going after him.

 

Magnus knocked on Taako’s door and entered without waiting for a response, tossing a box of Thin Mints into the walk-in-closet-turned-permanent-blanket-fort that Magnus could only assume Taako was hiding out in.

 

“Can I come in?”

 

“No.”

 

“Dude, I  _ just _ gave you cookies.”

 

“... fine.”

 

The blanket serving as a door was pulled aside, and Magnus crawled in.

 

Taako munched on a cookie, stubbornly avoiding eye contact.

 

“Ren’s pretty worried about you. She called me,” Magnus said, grabbing a Thin Mint and popping the whole thing in his mouth.

 

“I’ll apologize tomorrow.”

 

“Nah, she’s not  _ mad _ . Jus’ wants to know if you’re okay.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“You could call her.”

 

“My phone’s in my backpack.”

 

“Where’s your backpack?”

 

“Sazed’s.”

 

There was a pause. Taako tapped his fingers on his knee. Magnus stared at him.

 

“I’ll get it in the morning,” Taako finally said.

 

“Why’d you leave it?”

 

“Forgot.”

 

“You forgot your entire backpack with your phone inside?”

 

“Happens to the best of us.”

 

“Ren told me you and Sazed had a fight. Again. I didn’t realize this was a regular thing.”

 

“It’s not. Like, we have our disagreements, but so does everybody, we can usually make up pretty fast.”

 

“What was this one about?”

 

“Nothing. It was stupid.”

 

“Taako. C’mon. Blanket fort rules. We gotta tell the truth,” Magnus said, motioning to the piece of notebook paper covered in glittery gel pen taped to the wall.

 

“We made up those rules when we were, like, ten.”

 

“And they’re still hanging up so they’re still law.”

 

Taako rolled his eyes. “Sazed just made some dumb comment about how he liked my hair shorter and how I should cut it again like I had it at the beginning of the year and I got all pissy about it. It was dumb.”

 

“That’s not dumb, T, your hair’s really important to you. We’ve been doing everything to get it to grow out!” Magnus put his hands on Taako’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “He doesn’t get to tell you how to look, okay?”

 

Taako shrugged him off. “Chill, my dude. I know. I’m not gonna cut it or anything. It’s not a big deal.”

 

“If you say so, I guess.”


	6. eighteen years old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stronger tw for abuse; nothing graphic, but some possessiveness and the effect of pretty severe physical abuse is shown, stay safe

The first thing that Magnus noticed when he walked up to Taako’s booth at the school carnival / bake sale was Sazed’s arm slung around Taako’s shoulders, and Magnus’s teeth automatically clenched. Taako was wearing long sleeves despite it being 75-degrees and sunny, probably to hide the bruises Magnus had found on his arm the previous night. Magnus was filled with the overwhelming urge to deck someone. Ideally Sazed. But he took a deep breath and stepped up.

“Hey, T, Jules told me to give you this. Future brother in law privileges,” Magnus said, the thought of Julia making him smile. He set a ziploc bag with a sandwich in it down on the counter. “She may not be much of a baker, but she makes a damn good sandwich. She figured you’d get hungry standing out here surrounded by food all day.”

Taako shrugged Sazed off to take the bag. “Thanks.”

“No prob. How’s business?”

“Not bad.”

“Don’t you have football practice or something?” Sazed said, glancing at Magnus.

“Uh, not for half an hour. Figured I’d stop by. That a problem?”

Taako shot Magnus a warning glare.

“Of course not, you’re Taako’s family,” Sazed said, wrapping his arm around Taako’s slim shoulders again, more firmly this time.

“Yeah, I am. I heard you guys had a fight last night, guess you made up?”

Sazed opened his mouth, looking at Taako, but Taako jumped in before he could say anything.

“Yeah, we’re totally good, homie. I told you, it wasn’t even really a fight. I was just being dumb, wanted to make the cookies on my own at home instead of just making them at Sazed’s. Pretty stupid, right? Saze ended up helping me anyway, heh, I fell asleep halfway through icing them.”

Sazed chuckled. “Yeah, you were being kind of a dumbass. It’s cool, though. I love you despite your dumbassery. Why’d you tell him about it though? I thought we agreed that it wasn’t important.” Taako froze. Magnus noticed.

“He didn’t, I figured it out.”

“Pfft, you figured it out? Didn’t peg you for the figuring-out type.”

“Can I talk to you for a sec, Sazed?” Magnus said, casually popping his knuckles.

“You threatening me, you-”

“Leave him alone, Saze, he didn’t mean anything,” Taako mumbled.

“What did you say?” Sazed asked. Taako was silent. “No, what did you say, Taako? Look me in the eyes and tell me that your fucking - linebacker boyfriend wasn’t just threatening me?”

Taako looked up at Magnus. Magnus cleared his throat.

“I wasn’t threatening you, Sazed. I’ll- I’ll go, okay? See you later, Taako. Uh, text me if… when you’re coming home.”

“See you, Mags. Tell Julia I said thanks.”

“Will do. Love you, T.”

“Pfft, sap. Get to your sport thing.”

\----

Magnus sat on the grass and checked his phone. No texts. Practice was running later than usual, the bake sale should’ve ended almost two hours ago. But there was no text from Taako. Magus sent off a quick You good? Magnus’s friend, Jack, sat down next to him.

“You okay, Magno? You seem kinda distracted.”

“Uh, yeah, I just… you know Sazed?”

“Ugh, yeah, that asshole. He still datin’ your brother?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty worried about him. I asked him to text me when he was headed home after the bake sale, but he hasn’t said anything…” Magnus trailed off. There was a moment of silence. “Jack, Taako had bruises on his arm, last night. Looked like Sazed grabbed him. He said it was just an accident, but.”

Jack nodded in understanding and concern. “I’ll ask Coach Taylor to let us off. I got my truck out back, I can give you a ride wherever you need to go.”

“Thanks, Jack.”

Magnus had to get Sazed’s address from Ren, and mentally slapped himself for not getting it earlier. Jack insisted on driving, which was probably for the best, because Magnus wasn’t the safest driver on a good day, not to mention when he was worried about his brother.

They pulled into Sazed’s driveway, parking about half an inch behind Sazed’s rusty old Corolla. Magnus muttered a quick “I’ll yell if I need you” and jumped out of the car.

Magnus checked his phone one more time before he knocked. No messages. He pounded on the door. No response. He walked on in.

“Taako?” he called, quietly. Most of the house was dark. He walked as quietly as he could down the hallway that branched off from the living room, looking for lights coming from any rooms. There were two lit rooms, one of which with the door closed and the sound of footsteps coming from inside, and the other with the door cracked open and only faint light coming out. Magnus poked his head into the second one.

It looked like Sazed’s bedroom. Taako was laying on the bed, still. Magnus’s heart skipped a beat. He crept toward the bed until he could hear Taako’s breathing. He was alive. Beat to hell, but alive. He was tucked under the blankets, so Magnus couldn’t tell if he’d been knocked unconscious or was just a sleep. It didn’t matter very much to him.

Magnus heard footstep coming from down the hall and froze as Sazed stepped in.

“What. The hell. Are you doing in my bedroom,” he hissed, quietly.

“What the hell did you do to my brother?” Magnus growled.

“You broke into my damn house to spy on your brother and me? God, overprotective much?”

“He has a fucking black eye, Sazed!”

“Keep it down, would you? Besides, he deserved it, you heard what happened, right?”

“No…?”

“Idiot’s cookies sent forty fucking people to the hospital with food poisoning or some shit. One kid is dead, and it’s looking like a few more people are headed in that direction.”

“He… what? That’s an accident. That’s obviously an accident. I’m taking him home, okay?”

“Look. I know you don’t like me, but I love him, Magnus. I lost my temper, I know, but I love him. Just let him sleep, okay? I’ll drive him home in the morning. He’s had a rough day.”

Sazed looked so sincere that Magnus almost considered it. Instead, he walked over to the window, slammed it open, shouted “Start the engine, Jack!”, and scooped Taako up in his arms.

Sazed grabbed a knife off the nightstand. Magnus glowered.

“Don’t even try it, asshole.”

Sazed hesitated, but dropped the knife and stepped aside, glaring all the while.

Magnus shoved past him without another word.

He set Taako down in Jack’s backseat and slid in next to him, resting Taako’s head on his lap.

“Let’s go.”

Jack pulled out of the driveway. “He okay?”

“I think so. Thanks, Jack.”

“No problem. Back to yer place?”

“Yeah.”

Taako woke up halfway through the drive there and muttered a half-formed “Sazed?” but almost immediately fell back asleep.

Jack helped Magnus get Taako up the stairs to his bedroom, and politely stood outside the door while Magnus got Taako into bed.

“What the hell?” came a gruff, tired voice from down the hall.

“Oh! Evenin’, Mr. Highchurch,” Jack said. “Taako’s alright, just a bit beat up. I’ll, uh, let Magnus explain it to you, actually.”

On cue, Magnus stepped out, looking slightly sheepish. “Uh, hi, dad.”

“Don’t you dad me. What happened to Taako?”

Magnus frowned. “Sazed.”

“And why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t really think about it! I was at football, and Taako hadn’t texted me, and I got worried, so Jack drove me over to Sazed’s, and I went in, Taako was…” Magnus sniffled and burst into tears. Jack patted his back.

Merle sighed. “You wanna stay here tonight, Jack? Seems like it’s been a long night for everybody. I’m sure Maggie could use the company.”

Jack nodded. “Thanks, sir. You got a phone I can borrow? I should text Isaak ‘n tell ‘im where I’m at.” Magnus quietly handed Jack his phone, still sniffling. “Thanks.”

\----

Breakfast the next morning was an awkward affair. Merle had to get Magnus and Jack up, they’d been exhausted. They walked out to see Taako already sitting at the dining room table, staring blankly at a bowl of oatmeal.

“Hey, T. How’re you doing?” Magnus said, taking a seat.

“Fine. Hey Jack.”

“Howdy, Taako.”

“You, uh. Remember much of last night?” Magnus asked.

“Nah. I was at Sazed’s and then I was here. That’s about it.”

“Yeah. You’re, uh, you’re welcome.”

“For fucking what, Magnus?”

“I mean - I dunno what all he did to you, but -”

“It doesn’t matter! I poisoned forty fucking people! I honestly think that a little bit of a lost temper is justified!”

“No, it’s not, Taako! He was your boyfriend, you were supposed to be able to trust him, and he hurt you! Not for the first time, either! Whatever happened wasn’t your fault. You didn’t exactly pour rat poison in your damn cookie dough! Hell, it was probably Sazed’s fault!”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“Have you met the guy?”

“I know him a hell of a lot better than you do!”

“Taako. That’s not - that’s not what love looks like, okay? I wouldn’t do that to Julia.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, you two are fucking perfect.”

“No, we aren’t! We argue! And then resolve those arguments by talking about them like adults! Think about it, T. I love you, I’ve never hurt you. Merle would never hurt you. Fuckin’ - think about Lup! She wouldn’t do that, either! What would she say?”

Taako looked down at his oatmeal. “I don’t think I’m hungry.” He stood to leave, and Jack cleared his throat.

“If it helps - y’know Ren lives in my neighborhood, she’s a friend - she’s been worried about you. You can, uh, talk to her, if you need to.”

Taako looked Jack over, impassive. He left.

Magnus gave Jack a tired smile. “Thanks, Jack. He’ll, uh, he’ll come around.”

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THATS THE END OF SAZED FOR NOW THANK GOODNESS I HATE THAT GUY


	7. nineteen years old

Even a few weeks in, Magnus was still  _ so fucking pumped _ about college. He’d gotten a football scholarship to IPRE, where Julia was going. It was only thirty minutes away from home, so he could still visit Merle and Fisher. Taako wasn’t there, but that was fine. Sure, Magnus loved his brother, but he wasn’t about to miss the drama that came with him.

 

That mentality lasted all of five months.

 

“Why don’t you just call him?” Julia asked.

 

“He probably doesn’t wanna talk to me! He’s all on his own, that’s like, his  _ thing _ , Jules. He was all on his own before I dragged him home to Merle, and he ran off as soon as he could. I think he’s still mad at me about Sazed.”

 

“You did the right thing with Sazed, Taako’s just Taako.”

 

“But what does that MEAN?”

 

“He’s not good with people on any layer other than superficial. He probably misses you, too.”

 

“Ughhh,” Magnus groaned, burying his face in his girlfriend’s hair. “How are you so good at explaining people.”

 

“Taako and I have an understanding.”

 

\----

 

juulia: Mags misses you.

 

Tako: sucks to be him

 

juulia: Magnus misses you and thinks you’re mad at him.

 

Tako: i am mad at him?

 

juulia: It’s been a year, you’re not mad, you just have trust issues.

 

Tako: oh do i that’s good to know thanks

 

juulia: Taako ily and I love Magnus and I guarantee you miss him

 

Tako: jules ily but piss off 

 

juulia: So you’ll call him tonight right?

 

Tako: ill think abt it

 

\----

 

“Taako?”   
  


“Hey, Mango.”

 

Magnus burst into tears on the spot.

 

“Woah there, bubbeleh. Deep breaths.”

 

“I JUST MISSED YOU SO MUCH TAAKO.”

 

“Yeah, uh, well. That’s not gonna be much of a problem anymore.

 

Magnus sniffed. “Are you about to die or about to start calling more often?”

 

“What? Neither! I’m transferring to IPRE.”

 

“What? You are? That’s amazing! Taako! Oh my god! You’re gonna love it here, I’ve made so many cool friends, Carey is gonna  _ love you _ , we can share a dorm, this is gonna be amazing!”

 

\----

 

Taako sat on the floor of him and Magnus’s new dorm room, laughing as Magnus struggled to braid his hair. Fucking Julia, being fucking right all the time. He had missed this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER'S GONNA BE DECENT LENGTH I PROMISE
> 
> alsooooo guess who's showing up next chp!!!!!! ;^) ;^) ;^)


	8. nineteen and a half

Taako was bringing Starbucks back to his dorm when some dorky looking dude dressed like an uncool James Dean bumped into him at full force, nearly making him drop his drinks.

 

“I mean, I know I’m attractive but it’s looking like you’re a bit overeager there, huh, bud?”

 

The dude laughed and knelt down to pick up his glasses off the sidewalk. 

 

“Damn, they’re cracked…” he muttered, making an effort to polish . “Wait, shouldn’t you be in class? Professor Collins is a hardass, he’s gonna give you hell for showing up fifteen minutes late with Starbucks.”

 

“Uh, what?”

 

“Y’know, class? School? The reason why we’re here?” He put his glasses on, stood, squinted, and stepped back with an audible gasp. “Holy  _ shit _ !”

 

“I already made the ‘I know I’m attractive’ joke, dude, you’re gonna have to give me something else to work with.”

 

“You’re- fuck! You’re not Lup!”

 

“No, I’m-  _ what did you just say _ ?”

 

“I’m Barry, I’m- you’re Taako, right?”

 

“The one and fuckin’ only,  _ you know Lup _ ?”

 

“Yeah, she’s my, uh. Well-”

 

“Okay, I do not give a solitary shit. Where is she?”

 

“Right… right now?”

 

“Yes, right now!”

 

“I mean, she’s in class, theoretically, but, uh, maybe it wouldn’t be wise to just show up unannounced? Like, this is kind of a big deal-”

 

“It’s Barold, right?”

 

“Barry?”

 

“Barold, I have not seen my sister in eleven  _ fucking years _ , I am not going to wait any longer than absolutely necessary. Take these drinks-” he shoved the drink carrier into Barry’s hands, “-my dorm’s over there, 117, tell Magnus I’ll text him, where the fuck is my sister?”

 

Barry’s hands trembled a little. Taako was much more intimidating than Lup. “Uh, right- right in that building. Room 191.”

 

“Great, thanks, smell you later!” Taako spun around with a swoosh of the massively oversized varsity jacket he was wearing and sped off in the direction Barry indicated. Barry attempted to ask who Magnus was, but Taako was already gone in a metaphorical puff of smoke.

 

Taako, for his part, ran faster than he had since middle school P.E. class, keeping his balance very impressively in his heels. He sprinted into the building, only pausing to take a breath and process the fact that he was actually about to see his sister again when his hand was an inch away from the door to the classroom. 

 

His contemplation was interrupted, however, bye someone yelling at him from the water fountain down the hall.

 

“OH MY GOD,” came the voice of his sister.

 

Taako whirled around to face her, face nearly blank with shock as his brain desperately tried to keep up with what he was seeing.

 

Her hair was cut short and her boots were dirty, she still had a ton of freckles, and she was still taller than him (though not in his heels), and she looked nothing like he’d pictured but exactly right. And she was grinning like a madwoman. 

 

Before he had a chance to react, she’d charged into him and tackled him into a hug, and Taako felt every emotion at once, which he expressed simply by wrapping his arms around her, too.

 

Lup held Taako out at arms’ length, keeping her hands on his shoulders and looking over him.

 

“Are you dating a football player?” she asked.

 

“What?”

 

She motioned to his jacket, lifting an eyebrow.

 

“Oh, no, ew, fuck no, this is just Magnus’s. Who’s that Barry guy?”

 

“You met Barry?”

 

“He told me to come here. Thought I was you.”

 

“Pfft, he would, blind as a fuckin’ bat. His family fostered me for a couple years, we’re dating now and I love him.”

 

Taako looked scandalized. “Lup! You said you’d never date a nerd!”

 

“I said I’d never  _ marry _ a nerd!”

 

“Jeezy creezy.” Taako shrugged Lup’s hands off his shoulders and laughed.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I fuckin- I think I traumatized your boyfriend, sorry. Guy looked  _ terrified _ . Oh my god, I sent him to bring Magnus his coffee, I wasn’t even thinking about it.”

 

Lup broke down laughing. She sat down in the middle of the hallway, leaning against the wall, and Taako sank down after her.

 

“Ok, who- who the hell is Magnus, if he’s not your boyfriend?” Lup asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

 

“He’s my brother. Uh, after you up and disappeared, I got the hell outta dodge, hung out for like, a year or something, until some scrappy little kid and dad - uh, Merle - lured me in with the promise of sandwiches and I’ve been stuck with ‘em ever since.”

 

“Huh. Sorry about that, by the way. The, uh. Up and disappearing.” 

 

Taako shrugged, suddenly unable to meet her eyes.

 

“It wasn’t… I didn’t mean to, Koko. It’s been a while, but you know I’d never leave you, right?”

 

Taako glanced past her, to the door of her classroom, her question left in the air. “Should we go, like… should you get back to class? Hell, I should get back to Mags, he’s probably terrorising Barold, or whatever his name was.”

 

Lup paused, and nodded. “Yeah. I’ll - shit, this is the 21st century, we have cell phones. Gimme yours.” Taako handed her his cell and she punched her number into a contact, entering her name as LUP!!!. Taako chuckled. 

 

“Thanks. See you later?”

 

“Of course.”

 

\----

 

sideburns: TAAKO OMG!!!! THIS IS AMAZING

 

Taakooooo: im two feet from the door ok ill talk to you in like four seconds

 

Magnus jumped to his feet, barely registering his head getting banged on - something, swung open the door, and lifted Taako off his feet in a massive, crushing bearhug.

 

“I cannot breathe, Mags.”

 

“Oh, sorry,” Magnus said, setting Taako down inside the dorm. “Barry told me what happened!” Barry waved sheepishly from his seat on the floor. Magnus plopped down next to him, pulling Taako down with him.

 

Taako gave Barry a Look. “I assume you can just sort of,  _ assume _ the whole ‘dating my sister’ spiel for yourself, mm?”

 

Barry nodded fervently. “Uh, yeah, I, uh, get the idea.”

 

Magnus elbowed Taako. “Leave him alone, T.” He turned to Barry. “He’s harmless, mostly.” Barry chuckled. Taako rolled his eyes.

 

“Yeah, whatever. Thanks for, uh, helping me find my sister, Barold. And for bringing Mags his coffee.”

 

“Uh, yeah. No problem? She talks about you a lot.”

 

Taako looked sharply at the ground, letting his hair fall in front of his face. Barry squinted at him for a second, nodded to himself, and stood.

 

“I should get going. I guess I’ll see you guys around.”

 

“Hell yeah you will!” Magnus said. Barry took note of that to tell Lup; Taako hid his eyes when he was crying, just like she did, and Magnus jumped in to cover him. Interesting. Barry smiled and waved and walked out. 

 

When the door was closed and Barry’s footsteps faded out, Magnus wrapped his arm around Taako.

 

“You found her, T.”

 

Taako, lacking both the energy and the motivation to bother trying to hide anything, draped himself over Magnus and buried his face in his chest, sobbing almost violently. Magnus just rubbed his back in silence. They sat there until Taako had quieted down, and then a few moments more.

 

“Want me to call Jules over for ice cream and nail painting and obnoxious reruns of long-dead reality shows?”

 

Taako nodded, but made no move to disentangle himself from Magnus. Magnus shimmied to get his phone out of his pocket and shot Julia a quick text, putting the phone down immediately to re-wrap his arms around Taako. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> F I N A L L Y I CAN UPDATE THE TAGS  
> it's past midnight over here so im technically not posting twice in the same day it's fine  
> i changed my username! it's still me tho! come say hi and validate me @good-b-ee on tumblr or @good.b.ee on instagram!! i love and adore you all!


	9. ninteen and 3/4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> iiiii'm back nerds

“So where’s this Magnus thug you’re not dating but talk about every five seconds, huh? Isn’t he s’posed to share this dorm with you? Never seems to be in here,” Lup said, swirling her straw around in her glass of Coke.

 

“A, again, ew, you perv. B, the guy’s got a lotta friends. Plus, he insists on going out when he knows you’re coming over. Think he’s scared to meet you,” Taako replied.

 

“Aw, really? I wanna meet him though, call him over! Barry’s met him, why can’t I? He’s like, basically my brother now.”

 

“He’s out on a double date with his GF and best friend and  _ her _ GF. You, uh. Probably wouldn’t want to meet him now, honestly. They’re probably all fuckin’- wrecked.”

 

Lup raised her eyebrow. 

 

“Carey’s been a bad influence on him,” Taako said, only half-sarcastically defending his brother.

 

“And Carey is… the girlfriend?”

 

“Best friend. Julia’s the galpal. She’s been a great influence on Mags, though.”

 

“Right. I think she’s in my chemistry class-”

 

Lup was interrupted by the unique sound of a lot of weight suddenly being left without support but still vaguely wanting to hold itself up, resulting in a weird thumpy-slidey-groany sound as the weight tries and fails to support itself against the nearest wall-ish object, with a little yelp mixed in at the end as its hair is caught on the doorknob. Directly following this strange symphony was almost always some simple exclamation or two, a role which, in this case, was filled by a quiet “oh shit” from Taako and a loud “he’s your problem now!” from someone out in the hallway.

 

Taako shrugged at his sister and opened up the door, causing a very drunk and slightly bloody Magnus to fall directly into the dorm. Lup caught sight of a burly figure receding into the distance.

 

“Thanks, Kills!” Taako shouted after the figure, who flipped him off. Lup knelt down to inspect the body. The body looked back up at her and started crying.

 

“T-Taako, your hair’s gooone,” he choked out, reaching a hand up to pet Lup’s hair, which seemed to calm him down. “‘S soft though.”

 

Lup looked at the massive man currently stroking her head with tears in his eyes and looked back up at Taako. 

 

“So I guess this is Magnus?” she said.

 

“Yeah. I’d say this isn’t a great first impression but uh, it’s actually not too uncharacteristic for him. Mango, look at me. Hey, bubbeleh. I still got my hair, that’s Lup, remember?”

 

Magnus twisted himself around and clumsily propped himself up on his elbows to look up at Taako, and promptly started bawling again.

 

“Oh,  _ Taako _ , you have all your hair, and you have your sister back, and you must be so  _ happy _ -”

 

“Yeah, I am.” Taako frowned and touched a bleeding cut going over Magnus’s eye, from above his eyebrow to his cheekbone. “Yikes. What happened? Actually, don’t answer that, I’ll ask Killian later. Lulu, you up for a road trip?”

 

“What?”

 

“He prob needs stitches.”

 

“Oh. Yeah, sure, I’ll help you get him out to my car.”

 

Lup and Taako (mostly Lup) dragged Magnus out to Lup’s car and buckled him into the backseat. Taako slid into the passenger side.

 

“Ok, turn right out of here.”

 

“Why? Hospital’s left.”

 

“Yeah, and expensive. Trust me.”

 

Lup shrugged and turned right. Taako dictated directions the whole way there and Lup ran every stop sign and red light while Magnus snored.

 

“Ok, it’s this one.”

 

Lup parked in some driveway and hopped out of the car, instinctively wrapping her jacket tighter around herself even though it really didn’t help in the cold night air. She went to open the door to wake Magnus up, but paused when she noticed the state of the house she was parked in front of. It wasn’t particularly noteworthy in and of itself - medium size, ordinary shape - but it was almost completely carpeted with ivy and vines and flowers. The yard was full of plants and trees, especially flowers, seemingly planted in no pattern with no rhyme or reason but somehow cohesive and almost neat-looking. Well-kempt, at least. Even the ivy looked intentional, like it was allowed and encouraged to grow there.

 

Lup was so caught up in her staring that she didn’t notice Taako until he elbowed her.

 

“C’mon, help me get this thug inside,” he said, motioning to Magnus.

 

“Oh, right, sorry, babe. Uhm, why are we at Poison Ivy’s house?”

 

Taako snickered. “This is my, uh, Merle’s house.”

 

Lup raised her eyebrows so high it looked like they could fly off her forehead. “You fuckin’ grew up here? You, Taako Taaco, grew up  _ here _ ?”

 

Taako shuddered at some distant memory Lup had no way of knowing. “Unfortunately. Help me get Maggie inside, goofus.”

 

“Fine, dingus.”

 

They each took one of the still-sleeping Magnus’s arms and hauled him up to Merle’s door. Taako kicked it a couple times in lieu of knocking, causing a dog to start barking from somewhere inside.

 

“Merle, I know you’re awake, open the fuckin’ door, we have a level two Magnus emergency!” Taako shouted, with absolutely no regard for any neighbor that may still be asleep. Lup kicked him (with some awkwardness and difficulty). Taako groaned. “Please!” he shouted. Lup sighed.

 

“Not what I meant.”

 

There was some shuffling and unintelligible shout-grumbling from inside, followed by Merle opening the door with Fisher on his heels.

 

“Shit, what happened to him?”

 

Taako did the closest approximation of a shrug possible with Magnus still slung around his shoulder, and Merle stepped aside to let the trio in, only then realizing that it was, in fact, a trio.

 

“Aw shit, I just thought my vision finally went an’ I was seein’ double. Guess you’re Lup, huh?”

 

“Uh, yeah. I’d shake your hand, but. Where should we put him?”

 

“Just toss ‘im on the couch, I gotta grab my stuff.”

 

Merle waddled off to search for his first aid kit, and Lup and Taako dumped Magnus off on the living room couch, where Fisher immediately jumped up on his chest and started licking his face, causing Magnus to start giggling and kissing his dog’s nose over and over. Lup sat on an old, patchy, red recliner and was immediately invested in studying every detail of the home her brother grew up in. 

 

Some time during her ponderings, Merle had gone ahead and patched Magnus up (“He doesn’t need stitches, but he’s gonna have one hell of a scar.” “That sounds fuckin’ rad.”) and Taako had repositioned himself so Magnus’s head was on his lap and was doing something with his hair. Lup shook herself out of her reverie when Merle settled down on the rickety rocking chair right next to her recliner. He chuckled at her.

 

“Yer brother does that too. The, uh- spacin’ out. Nice to meet ya, by the way.”

 

“Yeah. Er, you too. What’s Taako  _ doing _ ?”

 

Merle chuckled again, a bit more to himself this time. “Taako, wanna explain?”

 

Taako started to speak, but Magnus bolted up first. “I know this one! When me ‘n T were… six- sixty? Teen! Sixteen. Taako burnt his hair off ‘n he made me cut it, but he was all upset ‘cause he remembered you with long hair ‘n he wanted to look like you- which is funny, ‘cause now your hair’s all short- so we made a, uh, deal, ‘n we did all this stuff to make our hair grow out, ‘cause I di’n’t want him to haveta do it alone-”

 

“That’s adorable, but what is he doing right now currently?”

 

Taako spoke up before Magnus could. “Putting oil on his hair.”

 

“Ah. You wanted to grow your hair out because you wanted to look like me? Koko, that’s adorable.”

 

Taako flushed. Merle jumped in. “He used to pitch a  _ fit _ if we even  _ suggested _ gettin’ him a haircut. Eventually he’d let us trim it, but there was a strict one-and-a-half-inch trim rule. He’d measure his hair before ‘n after to make sure they didn’t mess it up,” he said. Lup snorted.

 

Magnus reached up and patted Taako’s face, who swatted him away. Lup felt a lot of different feelings.

 

\----

 

The next morning, Magnus woke up with a hellish headache, bandages over his eye, and only a faint memory of meeting Lup. He groaned. Taako walked in with a mug of coffee and some aspirin. Magnus sat up and accepted the offering gratefully, and Taako sat down on the bed next to him. 

 

“Did I say anything super stupid last night?” Magnus asked.

 

“Not stupider than sober you would’ve.”

 

“Hey, shut up.”

 

“Am I wrong?”

 

“... Nah. Hey, Taako?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m still, like, your brother, right? Even with Lup back?”

 

“Yeah, doofus, duh.”

 

“Okay. Cool. Cool.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my chapter naming convention is RAPIDLY falling apart. this one's almost over though so it's fiiiiine


	10. twenty-three years old

Taako, Magnus, and Merle had an eventful train ride in which they put a thief/murderer in jail and met a very smart and very small child that they, collectively, hated, and promptly forgot the name of.

 

Until a month later, when he showed up at Magnus and Taako’s shared apartment, practically attached to Lucretia’s leg, anxiety in his eyes and exhaustion in hers.

 

The boy brightened when he saw Taako and Magnus. He let go of Lucretia, to her surprise. “Sirs! Hello sirs! Do you remember me, I’m the little young boy detective Angus you met on the train!”

 

“Ango! Of course we remember you!” Magnus said, only just now remembering him.

 

“Did he say Agnes?” Taako asked. Lucretia sighed.

 

“This is Angus McDonald. His parents are… unavailable. I’ve been appointed his temporary guardian, but…” Lucretia paused, looking at Angus. She grabbed a large pillow off the couch and covered his ears with it. “Magnus, Taako, I don’t fucking know how to raise a child genius. Lup and Barry are both too busy, Merle’s helping Davenport to recover, he already knows you guys-”

 

“Lucretia, are you asking us to take care of a kid. Us. Us, Magnus and Taako?” Magnus asked. Lucretia nodded.

 

“Wait, us? Like, gotta be crystal clear here, homie,  _ us _ ?” Taako interjected.

 

“Yes, Taako. You and Magnus.” She looked down at Angus. “Please?”

 

“Hell YEAH!” Magnus said, at about the same time Taako said “HELL no!” They looked at each other.

 

Surprisingly, Taako caved first, and quickly.

 

“Yeah, sure, fine, whatever.”

 

“Starting when?” Magnus asked.

 

“Um. Tonight, ideally?”

 

Taako sighed. “That’s fine.”

 

Lucretia closed her eyes for a moment, sending off a prayer of thanks to whomever might be listening.

 

“He’s a good kid, really, just… inquisitive. And precocious. I simply don’t have the time for all his questions, and no idea how to keep him occupied,” Lucretia said, uncovering Angus’s ears. “Angus, you’re going to stay with Magnus and Taako for a bit, okay? We’re going to bring over all your stuff real quick.”

 

Angus looked a little bit completely destroyed for a moment, but quickly composed himself. “Alright! Thank you, sirs, for the opportunity to stay here!”

 

“Yeah! It’ll be awesome!”

 

“Yeah, whatever.”

 

Lucretia grabbed Angus’s hand. “Let’s go, Angus.”

 

“Alright, Miss Lucretia.”

 

They left, and Magnus turned to Taako. “I thought you were gonna put up more of a fight on that one?”

 

Taako shrugged. “It’ll be like having a big smart dog, how hard could it be?”

 

Magnus cocked his head to one side like he was considering this. “Yeah. Yeah, probably! We’re gonna be great dads!” He held out his hand for a low-five. Taako smacked it.

 

\----

 

It took less than three days for them to realize that, perhaps, children were more difficult than pets.

 

But there was very little that the two of them couldn’t do together, aside from making responsible decisions and Not Stealing and staying sober and keeping steady jobs (most of which actually fall under making responsible decisions, really, so there was basically only one thing they couldn’t do! Sure, it’s probably the most important thing in raising a child, but it was still just  _ one thing _ ).

 

Even when Magnus moved in with Julia because Julia got sick and couldn’t take care of herself, much less a kid, which left Angus with just Taako for company, Taako texted Magnus for parenting advice nigh-constantly. 

 

And when Julia got tentatively better and Magnus proposed and Taako adopted Angus for real, they constantly stayed up late into the night doing each others’ hair.

 

Taako would deny all of this, if someone asked, and several people did. Magnus always laughed and ruffled his brother’s hair, careful not to mess it up. Neither ever gave a straight answer. They kept their secrets. They were brothers, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHORT CHAPTER CHEESY ENDING BUT HERE WE ARE Y'ALL THIS IS THE END OF THIS PARTICULAR INSTALLMENT IN THIS SERIES TUNE IN NEXT TIME
> 
> THANK YOU SM FOR THE SUPPORT AND COMMENTS I LOVE ALL OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY MORE THAN THE REST

**Author's Note:**

> here we go


End file.
